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The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has the right to monitor innocent people using the pretext of terrorism. The New York Times reported that, according to newly released official documents, the government allows the FBI to include people on its terrorist watch list even if they are acquitted of terrorism-related offences or if the charges are dropped. The disclosed files set up a number of rules the police and security officials should follow if they should encounter someone on the list of suspects. In particular, these regulations allow the authorities to remove passengers off planes, block non-citizens from entering the country, and subject listed people to greater delays and scrutiny at airports, border crossings, and traffic stops. Police have the right to arrest suspects; others are to be questioned whilst officers check with the Department of Homeland Security {literal translation of the Russian is “Ministry of Internal Security”… rather close to KGB, no?: editor} to see whether it has or will issue a “detainer” request; if there’s no such order, the suspect would be allowed to proceed without delay. It’s strictly forbidden for the cops to inform the person that they’re on the watch list. Moreover, the watch list itself may include people who’ve been found not guilty by the courts or the charges against whom have been dropped, if a government bureau has “reasonable suspicion” that the person might have ties with terrorism. What is termed “reasonable suspicion” wasn’t specified.
Immediately, the published papers provoked a strong reaction from human rights activists. Ginger McCall, a counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said, “In the United States, you’re supposed to be assumed innocent. But on the watch list, you may be assumed guilty, even after the court dismisses your case”. In fact, the American justice system is based on the presumption of innocence. Moreover, once you’re found “not guilty”, the prosecution has no right to appeal, even if there were any new evidence or proof found of your guilt. Indeed, the presumption of innocence is a basic principle of all legal systems in states that claim to adhere to the rule of law. Of course, the disclosed files contain certain provisions against indiscriminate inclusion of this or that person on the list. For instance, any information that a person has terrorist contacts must receive confirmation from at least two sources. The papers emphasise, “mere guesswork or ‘hunches’ aren’t enough and one needs firm evidence”. However, even with such provisions, there are already at least 420,000 names on the database, including 8,000 Americans. Of these, 16,000 people are barred from flying, including 500 US citizens.
One of civil rights advocates, Chris Calabrese, a counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, called the watch list system a “Star Chamber”, saying it’s “a secret determination, that you have no input into, that you’re a terrorist. Once that determination’s made, it can ripple through your entire life and you have no way to challenge it”. People thought that George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four was a satire about communist-ruled countries, with pervasive surveillance over everyone and everybody. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the communists never had the capability to adopt such surveillance. To make such a system work, you need advanced new technologies combined with peculiar interpretations of “human rights” and “civil liberties”. If one looks at the specious practises found in the contemporary USA, it seems that much of modern America bears a close resemblance to Orwell’s Oceania. What’s even more hazardous is the fact that the US “lawlessness enforcement agencies” try to spread their principles globally and impose them on everyone else. For now, Big Brother is only watching his fellow citizens and all those who enter the USA. However, it seems to be only a matter of time until a global FBI-like structure emerges and Big Brother becomes omnipresent.
28 September 2011
Boris Volkhonsky
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2011/09/28/56892505.html
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/28/56873314.html
Editor’s Note:
In the USA, “free speech” is now muzzled by two disparate “Gestapos”. On the left, the PC crowd shouts down everyone that they find “offensive”. On the right, it’s more blatant. Bush used the Department of Homeland Security to bludgeon his opponents (and those perceived as being “socialist” or “progressive”). So, people feel squeezed from both ends, and they hate both sets of oppressors. They hate the PC crowd for its juvenile tantrums, and they hate the Tea Party/rightwing for its reliance on naked force. That’s why most Americans have lost faith in both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Reflect on this… the leadership of the “Pro-Life” and “Family Values” crowds slobbers over and approves of right-wing oppression, and they hope for the imposition of a far-right dictatorship a là The Handmaid’s Tale (that’s why Orthodox Christians have to fight the konvertsy… they’re mostly rightwing lunatics).
We need a better world than that… but shall we pay the cost?
BMD
